Turkey launches offensive against PKK forces in northern Iraq

PKK soldiers on a road in the Qandil mountains in northern Iraq (illustrative image) AFP - SAFIN HAMED

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The operation, which focuses on three regions close to the Turkish border, notably mobilizes special forces and combat drones.

According to the Defense Ministry, the offensive aims to thwart a large-scale PKK attack on Turkey.

But the latter seeks above all to weaken the military presence of Kurdish fighters in these regions.

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With our correspondent in Istanbul,

This new operation is part of a series of offensives carried out by the Turkish army since May 2019 in these regions of northern Iraq where the PKK is in competition with the forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The offensive also comes two days after a visit to Turkey by the Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani, whom Recep Tayyip Erdogan had undoubtedly made aware of.

The Ankara authorities, who congratulate themselves on having considerably weakened the PKK in Turkey even in recent years, are now concentrating their attacks on the main military camps of the Kurdish armed group in Iraq, in particular in the mountainous regions of Gara and Zap.

The operation is risky, because of the presence of Turkish soldiers on this ground that the PKK knows well, having been established there for decades.

The Turkish army offensives have heightened tensions between Ankara and the Iraqi central government in Baghdad.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the operation respected " 

".

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• Turkey

• Iraq